Thomas will lead Maryland (28-6) against Notre Dame (36-0) at 5:30 p.m. Sunday in the Women's Final Four at Bridgestone Arena.

Thomas might be the most dominant player on any of the teams in Nashville. She is a three-time ACC player of the year, a two-time Associated Press first-team All-American and Maryland's all-time leading scorer among men or women with 2,342 points.

She helped Maryland return to the Final Four for the first time since the Terps won the 2006 title. That included posting a career-high 33 points and 13 rebounds in a 73-62 win over top-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet 16.

Thomas, who is 6-foot-2 and capable of playing every position on the floor, said she first started to escape her shyness as a freshman when members of Maryland's men's team started drawing comparisons between her game and LeBron James'.

By the end of that season she had acquired the nickname Baby Bron Bron.

"That started to help me break out a little bit," Thomas said. "I liked that nickname. Who wouldn't? It made me want to live up to it."

Thomas arrived at Maryland with high expectations. She was a Parade All-American and also had offers from Notre Dame, Penn State and Miami."My freshman year I probably couldn't have handled all the attention I've gotten this year," Thomas said. "I've just opened up over the years. I am shy by nature, but I didn't like being as shy as I was back then. You don't want to be so closed off. I've grown as a person."

She has started every game of her college career, posting 66 career double-doubles (28 this year) and six triple-doubles (four this year).

Her No. 25 jersey was hung from the rafters at Maryland's Comcast Center before Thomas played in her final regular-season game there against Virginia Tech on March 2. Thomas is only the ninth player in Maryland history to be honored in that fashion.

When she gets emotional on the court it fires up her teammates. It is still out of character.

"She's the same way on the court that she is off it," freshman point guard Lexie Brown said. "You don't really see too much emotion from her on the court, but when you do, it grabs your attention. It takes a lot for that to happen, so when that's happening, good things are going on."

Thomas helped Maryland come as close to beating Notre Dame (87-83 on Feb. 27) as any team has come this season. She scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Thomas gave the Terrapins their only lead when she made a jump shot in the lane that put them up 64-63.

"She's great in the press offense," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "She's just so hard to guard because she plays so hard. She's relentless. She just is diving for loose balls, attacking the glass. She's doing everything that a coach could want a player to do."